


La Belle et la Bête

by awayfromsight



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: Adventures of Family Lecter, Because It's So Fluffy You'll Vomit, But No One Would Write, F/M, The Murder Baby Story I Deserve, murder baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-14 01:49:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16030496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awayfromsight/pseuds/awayfromsight
Summary: “No, your crown needs to be different. And we need to get one for Papa, too. Like the prince and the princess in my story.”Hannibal and Bedelia take their daughter to Florence.





	La Belle et la Bête

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NotPersephone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotPersephone/gifts).



> This story was inspired by and written for an idea by my beautiful friend Karolina <3

Little hands tug and pull at his jacket sleeves with surprising strength, prompting or rather demanding him to quicken his pace towards the Piazza della Signorina and the large, ancient building right next to it. The autumnal sun was shining high over Florence, and the Piazza was crawling with locals, trying to sell cheap merchandise and tourists, more than willing to spend their last dime on Slogan T-Shirts. Weaving through the masses of people was a young girl, barely three years old and determined beyond her years, her blonde curls flying behind her as she ran ahead and back again, impatient for her parents to catch up. A leisurely stroll arm in arm was the last thing they should be doing.

“Papa, hurry up! Walk faster! Mama, tell him to walk faster! Nagi!” 

Another tug at his jacket finally managed to draw her father’s eyes away for the woman next to him and look into the brown eyes so much like his own. He could see her mother’s brilliance shine through more and more each day but her eyes were unmistakably his. As was her apparent annoyance.

“Mira, the Galleria isn’t going anywhere. Two minutes aren’t going to make a difference in fact,” he made a grand gesture, glancing at his wristwatch and squinting his eyes, pretending to take a while to read the time, “We have almost 4 whole hours left. I think that’s plenty of time to see everything, lėlė.” 

“You don’t know that. What if they close early, what if they throw all the pictures away? What if…” 

Eliciting a smile from the adult before her, Bedelia turned to her husband, letting go of his arm and leaning down to her look directly at her daughter. She looked picture perfect in front of the historic building surrounding them, dressed in a lilac summer dress they had chosen together in a boutique a few days ago. Hannibal had been looking forward to showing their daughter Italy ever since they had found out about her existence. The 9 months leading up to her arrival had been spent planning all the trips he wanted to take her on, the sights she would need to see. When she had been born, however, their world was turned upside down and long flights to foreign places were banished from their minds. He had become extremely protective, both of Mira and of Bedelia herself, preferring to keep them close to him and inside the castle as much as possible. It had taken Hannibal three more years and a lot of convincing from the little girl stamping her feet in front of him to finally book the flights. 

“I promise they won’t. Tėtis is going to show you everything you want, but only if you calm down and behave, alright?”

While the anger in Mira’s face visibly lessened, she couldn’t help but turn around to look at the Uffizi Gallery behind her. The walk there looked like it would take ages and her parents kept stopping to point out other things.

“I’m sorry, Mama. But you walk too slow…trop lent and I want to see every single thing there is!” 

Bedelia couldn’t stifle a laugh at her daughter’s desire for knowledge. Standing back up, she raised her arms in defeat and looked back at Hannibal.“I can’t argue with that.” 

Her husband stepped forward, linking their fingers and began walking towards the Galleria again, quickening his step. Keeping an eye on his daughter who, upon seeing that they would finally continue walking, had skipped ahead happily, he leant down to press a chaste kiss to Bedelia’s cheek and whispered in her ear. “Do you still think raising her trilingual was the best idea? She has triple the vocabulary to express her disappointment in us.”

The Galleria degli Uffizi was rather empty that day, most people preferring to enjoy the last days of sunshine and Gelato over Renaissance paintings and statues. Mira however, could barely be contained, wanting to run around and find her favourite paintings her father had pointed out to her beforehand. Rather than staying close to her parents, she ran up to the first piece of art she saw, looking up in awe at the vivid colours and the golden frame around the picture. She didn’t recognize the image but knew it must be important nonetheless, putting a hand on the rope guarding the space around it. 

“Mira Adelyne Lecter, what have I told you about behaving?”, her mother appeared behind her with a sigh. As much as she valued her curiosity and appreciation for art, sometimes she wished Mira had inherited Bedelia’s careful nature, rather than her husband’s disregard for rules.  
“I don’t want to lose you, please remember to stay with Papa or me.” 

Her daughter’s focus could barely be shifted from the different exhibits around her, taking in everything her father had previously only told her about. Glancing at her shoes, she nodded silently at her mother, looking more annoyed to be stopped than sorry for running off. Walking ahead of her parents but staying considerably closer to them than before.  
She only turned around to her father when she finally found what she had been searching for. Craning her neck to get as close as possible, Mira stopped in front of the Madonna Del Magnificat, almost wanting to duck under the rope to touch it before she remembered that that was most likely the opposite of what her mother would call “behaving”. 

“Tėtis, I found it! The painting you talked about! C’est ici!” 

“Well done, širdelė. Do you want to get a closer look?” Hannibal moved behind his daughter, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her closer to the painting.  
He marveled at the curiosity on her face, treasuring the way her eyes scanned the painting. He fell in love with her more with each passing day, with every time she learned something new or asked him a particularly intelligent question. Fatherhood was something Hannibal had given up upon a long time ago but now he could barely remember a life without her sticky fingerprints on the table or her drawings decorating the walls of their home. Nuzzling the side of her face with his nose, Hannibal lowered his voice to speak, as if sharing a secret with only his daughter. “Do you remember what I told you about this painting? And why I like it so much?”

Screwing her face up in concentration, she tried hard to recall all the different things her father had taught her. They spend a lot of days in the castle’s library, reading about history and art, sometimes so long that her mother has to take the books away from them and drag them outside to play in the gardens. 

“I think… Botticelli made it, right? A long long time ago. But nobody really knows where it came from or why he painted it?” 

Her good memory was rewarded with the most adoring smile, reserved only for her. “Exactly. He painted it in 1481.”

“You like it because it reminds you of Mama and me when I was little. When she would read to me?” 

Bedelia appeared by their side, having observed their interaction from a distance before. Seeing Hannibal so enamoured with Mira never ceased to amaze her and watching him teach her about subjects he was passionate about had captivated her from the day Mira was born. The Doctors had handed her to him after their examination and the sheer awe with which he had looked at their daughter, touching her face with his fingertips and holding her like his most prized possession, had yet to subside. 

“Does that mean I get a crown like hers, too?”, a smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth as she reached up to smooth out Mira’s hair. 

The young girl contemplated her for a second, her gaze flickering between the painting and her mother before shaking her head.  
“No, your crown needs to be different. And we need to get one for Papa, too. Like the prince and the princess in my story.” Beaming at her parents, she asked to be set back down and continued her excursion through the Uffizi, running between the paintings and stopping only when she saw something familiar. 

They stayed until she had seen absolutely everything, sometimes requesting Hannibal’s assistance to get a closer look or to remember a certain detail she couldn’t recall.  
Walking out of the Galleria, an idea crossed Mira’s mind.

“Papa, do you remember the store we went by yesterday? With the pink decorations?”  
Thinking for a minute, a disgruntled look crossed Hannibal’s face.“The Disney store? Yes… why?” 

She beckoned him to come closer and lean down, whispering something Bedelia couldn’t quite make out and causing a mischievous glint to appear in the eyes of her husband and daughter. 

He picked Mira up with ease, letting her sit on his shoulders, before reaching for Bedelia’s hand again, weaving his fingers through hers. 

“Do I want to know…?” She shot an inquiring look at them, trying to gauge their plans but finding nothing but impish glee in their faces. 

“I think it’s best if you let this be a surprise, cara mia.” 

They arrived at the Disney Story in the Via dei Calzaiuoli faster than either of them had the chance to really dread the ordeal they were about to put themselves through. As much as they prided themselves on the interest Mira had in culture and history, they couldn’t quite keep her away from the cartoon princesses all of her friends seemed to enjoy so much. 

The youngest Lecter quite literally hit the ground running when Hannibal lifted her off of his shoulders, making her way through the different shelves and tables laden with colourful backpacks, costumes and stuffed animals. Cheerful music was blaring over the speakers, causing several customers to sing along to the familiar songs. 

“We haven’t been here a full minute and I already feel a migraine coming. Why exactly did we need to come here?” Bedelia raised her fingers towards her temple, shutting her eyes in an attempt to block out the assault on her senses.

“Mira had an idea and…”, Hannibal started to defend himself but was cut off by his wife. 

“…and you can’t ever deny her anything. Yes, I know.” If it wasn’t for the loving tone in her voice, one could have suspected Bedelia to become murderous sooner rather than later. 

It thankfully did not take them long to locate their daughter again, finding her scrutinizing a display of crowns of various shapes and sizes.  
She made to grab a golden tiara advertised for "The Beauty and The Beast" but couldn’t quite close her fingers around it. 

“Tėtis, can you get it for me, please? I think I found the right one!” 

Taking the right tiara off the shelf, Hannibal tried to hand it to his daughter but found her shaking her head and pointing at her mother. “No, you have to do it.”

Sharing a pained expression, Bedelia tried to reason with her. “Mielasis, don’t you think it would look better on you? I really don’t think the gems go with my dress,” kneeling down in front of her pouting daughter, she took the plastic jewellery from her husband, placing it on her daughters blonde head, ”See? Tu es si belle.”

Turning to appraise herself in a nearby mirror, Mira considered for a moment.  
“But what about you and Papa? You should have one, too.” 

Bedelia stood up again, placing a hand on her husband’s chest as his wound around her waist. They’d been together for years and years, knew the other better than most people could claim to know themselves but the electricity that passes between them every time they look into each other’s eyes never ceased in the slightest. Leaning up towards him, Bedelia claimed her husband’s lips with hers, eliciting a small noise of disgust from their daughter.

“Belle and the Beast never do that in the film.” 

Both Hannibal and Bedelia turn towards their child, confusion was written across their expressions.

“Why are you thinking of them specifically, lėlė?”

Mira gives them an incredulous look. “Isn’t that obvious? Mama’s beautiful and smart like Belle and the Beast falls in love with her because of it. They read together and dance a lot…They’re just like you except that you’re not a beast, Papa.” 

Both Bedelia and Hannibal exchange a meaningful look, both thinking of how much their lives had changed in the last few years. A Beast was exactly what people had used to describe him, once upon a time and the story of their love had not exactly been a fairytale worthy of a Disney film at all times, but neither found that they minded much. Their story had gotten a happily ever after in the end. “No, I suppose not.”  
Smiling at his wife and giving her another kiss, Hannibal takes his daughter’s hand in his, making their way towards the cashier and then the exit of the store. She wasn’t entirely wrong after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Mira Adelyne is a Latin and French name, meaning noble wonder. Fit for a princess... or rather Countess. 
> 
> Nagi - Lithuanian "Come on!"  
> Lėlė - Lithuanian "Puppet"  
> Tėtis - Lithuanian "Papa/Father/Dad"  
> Trop Lent - French "too slow"  
> C’est ici - French "It's here"  
> Širdelė - Lithuanian "Sweetheart"  
> Cara Mia - Italian "My darling"  
> Mielasis - Lithuanian "Sweetheart"  
> Tu es si belle - French "You're so beautiful"  
> \- In conclusion, these people speak too many languages. 
> 
> This story theoretically takes place in NotPersephone's "Castle Lecter" universe, though it's probably nowhere near worth it.


End file.
